Posting the sane and insane news about the law and what otherwise strikes my fancy.
The opinions and commentary made by this author is solely his own. It does not reflect the opinion of any other individual or organization including the 83rd District Attorney's Office or Pecos, Brewster, Presidio or Jeff Davis Counties.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Buh-Bye!

When the 28-year-old man took the stand at his sentencing Thursday to plead for leniency in the case against him, Rodolfo Ruiz used the opportunity to insist he was an innocent man.

“Why would you do a thing like that?” he asked the judge, who would determine punishment for Ruiz's June 6 conviction of the sexual assault of his girlfriend's 13-year-old sister. “There're plenty of women out there.”

But 226th District Judge Sid Harle was not swayed, and instead sentenced Ruiz to 40 years for the aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child and the sexual performance of a child in October 2005. Prosecutors said he twice prostituted the girl to five different men, and over a six-month period beginning in late 2005, Ruiz and his two brothers passed her between them for sex.

His brothers, Michael Ruiz, 29, and Carlos Ruiz, 33, have each been charged in the case, which was recently highlighted by authorities as an example of domestic minor trafficking.Michael Ruiz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and Carlos Ruiz is awaiting trial, prosecutors said.

The exploitation came to light after the girl became pregnant by Michael Ruiz.

“My brothers, you know they both did what they did,” Rodolfo Ruiz said Thursday. “If I did do this, honestly, I would accept it and be a man about it.”

Ruiz had moved in with his girlfriend's family, and altogether seven people lived in the same cramped one-bedroom apartment off Hunt Lane on the far West Side.

Prosecutor Michael De Leon asked for a life sentence for Ruiz, saying he had masterminded the exploitation. But defense lawyer Raymond De Leon argued that there was no evidence of that.Relatives took the stand in Ruiz's defense. Sylvia Tovar, his mother, said her son is a good provider for his children and for her.

“He's been very supportive, very loving,” Tovar said. “I wouldn't change him for the world.”His sister-in-law, who is married to Carlos Ruiz, also testified.

“If I really believed the things that he's been accused of, I would not be up here,” said Mary Padilla. “I have six kids of my own, and I'm a very protective mother.”